And finally… Baa-ck to the drawing board

Plans for a giant sheep structure on a Beverley roundabout have been rejected by East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

The sculpture was designed by local artist Peter Naylor, with the application submitted by housebuilder Risby Homes, which proposed funding the artwork as a contribution to the town.

The application sought permission for a ‘Baa-Baa Black Sheep’-inspired monument at Regiment Roundabout, a key element of the ongoing £86.9m A164/Jock’s Lodge Improvement Scheme, one of the council’s largest construction projects.

The structure was intended to act as a “welcome to Beverley” feature and had been dubbed “Three Bags Full”, described in the plans as “deliberately quirky and humorous” and likely to have “mass public appeal”.

It was also expected to be “particularly enjoyed by children” – although, as it turns out, the council was less enthusiastic.

The plans proposed three steel ‘bags’ and a black sheep positioned on top of a grass mound in the centre of the roundabout.

The structure would also have been illuminated at night, giving motorists an unmistakable woolly welcome to Beverley.

However, the scheme has now been rejected, with a council report raising a number of concerns about the proposals, including the steep gradient of the mound, which the report said could potentially act as “a launch or take off ramp.”

So while the sheep may have been intended to give Beverley a memorable new landmark, the proposal has ultimately been sent back to the pasture.

Imagined here, illuminated at night. Credit: Peter W Naylor